im on a tight budget ($1000) but i want to run sli cards if possible, should i get two gtx 550ti or a single or a single gtx560ti. i have all the other parts for the comp just have the gpu left to buy? so any recomendations would help thanks
$1000 on the cards or overall? Because if it's $1000 for the cards alone, I'd go with the HD 7970 Black Edition or EVGA GTX 580. If you're narrowing it down to those two cards then I'd go with the GTX 560ti. I was about to get the 550ti, but now I see myself wanting the 560ti, There's more Cuda Cores on the 560ti, but the 550ti has a better memory clock/shader clock/core clock. It's up to you man.
let me tell you about SLI, it only works for sli enabled games, which isn't that many, so most of the time, you're just using the power of a single card, so just get 1 single powerful card
yeah forgot to specify the amount i have left. i have around $300 left for the gpu
+1 for the 570, its a great card. I came down from a 7970 before the big price drop to save losing money and am very happy indeed, Ive overclcoked it on stock volts and it beats a stock 580 with ease (it is the MSI TF3 PE mind)
Vram although can be limiting in BF3 and maybe a few games coming up but it isn't an issue with one 570 atall as you cant put up the graphics enough for it to use the Vram anyway.. the Vram is perfectly matched for the performance, if you were to SLI it for example then the Vram would be limiting.
-_-
Really? Because in my experience most new games support SLI.
Yeah, go ahead and get a GTX 570.
Uh, no.. I don't understand why people are suggesting the 570. Get the 7850, which can at times outperform the 580! Overclocks like crazy, less power needed. http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18389760&page=1
The 7850 is a good card, but not all overclcok that well (and certainly not 24/7 with that max overclock).
Any 570 with a pretty much guarenteed slight overclock beat a stock 580 with ease.
I only suggest the 570 from my own experience, I had the 7970 which had driver issues similar to the 7850 in some games I play (BFBC2, TF2, CSS)
Heres a comparison from the most reputable place you could ever want;
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/518?vs=549
And I was talking about a 570 for second hand, there is tonnes of them and are a very good price atm.
The only way I could personally choose 570 over 7850 is at a second hand price, but it would be too risky. Buy new, get warranty, support, etc.
Not really, I buy second hand stuff quite allot and save allot of money, and I always buy second hand GPU's that have warranty with the manufactures so no risk atall just save a load of money :)
A 570 beats the 7850, if you have the money and want to buy new then consider the 7850 as its a very good card, just understand not all overclock that well (few overclcok to levels in the link provided and it isn't advised either)
A second hand 570 is a gold card atm comparing all the cards that are out.
Where do you get your used stuff? Online or in person sales/trades?
I'm in the UK and I use AVForums.co.uk
Its a great place you can buy and sell anything (mostly tech like TV's/Projectors/PC Parts) and all the members have iTrader feedback, most been there for years.
Just a way of buying and selling and avoiding Ebay charges and thus selling and buying things cheap.
I trust the forum allot more than Ebay as I know exactly what I'm buying and everything about it, plus I know the person who's selling it to me, and always have support if the product has warranty. But I do do most of my trading by person, have had about £2000 worth of stuff delivered though over the last year and no problems, you know you can trust someone if you know all there details and they hav 100+ feedback.
Im pretty sure you have a forum in the US like this too (or a couple) Might not be as trust worthy as this one though. i think it helps that England is so small and the court systems small claims court. No one will dare scam you on it, plus its heavily moderated, and unless your silly you wouldn't pay for something without it being sent first if the person has low feedback.
The GTX 570 still outperforms the 7850 in most games.